NFL Hires Former WB Network Chief Jordan Levin as Head of Content

He recently served as executive vp at now-defunct Xbox Entertainment Studios.

The NFL has hired a new chief of content.

Industry veteran JordanLevin has been tapped to oversee the league's programming effortsas its first chief content officer.

Levin, who starts his new job Monday, will oversee the development of content for NFL Network, the NFL Now online platform and other league-owned properties. He also will supervise the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Levin most recently was executive vp at now-defunct Xbox Entertainment Studios. He joined the company in February 2014, but Microsoft announced five months later that it was shutting the division down amid company-wide layoffs of up to 18,000 staffers.

Levin also was formerly CEO of WB Network, where he oversaw 1990s hits such as Dawson's Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gilmore Girls, and co-founded and served as CEO of Generate, a digital media company acquired by Alloy Digital in 2012.

Asked about Levin's lack of sports experience, NFL executive vp media BrianRolapp told The Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report the news: "We have a deep bench of sports producers. We’re trying to supplement that with people who can think broader about content."

Rolapp added that Levin will has been given a broad focus on the type of content he'll be tasked to develop, ranging from game shows to possibly scripted shows.

For his part, Levin told the Journal that he'll look to provide "some connection and cohesiveness to the larger overall strategy" at the NFL.